It took me until this year to read Jane Austen’s work and so, naturally, I had not been all that interested previously in seeing the house in which she’d wrote most of her novels.

Recently, having passed the half-way mark of reading (I’ve read Pride And Prejudice, Persuasion, and Sense And Sensibility) it suddenly became incredibly important that I visit Chawton as soon as possible. I decided that I should see Austen’s grave in Winchester, and find out about journeying to Chawton from there, but it turns out that like many places in the UK the bus service isn’t too great and unless you drive there yourself you’re possibly going to get stranded if you stay too long. So I went to Winchester on one day, and enlisted the assistance of a car on another for Chawton.

The day was beautiful, one of the most perfect days we’ve had here this year; few clouds, plenty of sun, and hot but not too hot. Maybe it was the weather but the village of Chawton is spectacular. Perhaps I went on a less-busy day but the village seems untouched by the mass of tourists that must visit from all over the world. The village is very small with few amenities, and the houses are amazingly cute – it may not represent the bigger picture of life in the country, but in all other aspects it’s English perfection.

Austen’s house resides at the entrance to the village, it’s the first house you pass as you come in. It’s also a lot bigger than many of the other houses and certainly although not the nicest looking it’s one of the more eye-catching. If it were modern you’d say it had been built to be that way. You enter first through the side gate in front of the bread house. The original front door of the house was bricked up years ago and so after a quick saunter through the gardens you enter through a door straight into the drawing room.

Something worth remembering – you’re allowed to take photographs inside. I took mine without the flash which I seem to remember was the only rule. I could have taken a myriad of pictures of all the rooms but something held me back, a mixture of looking like a tourist and that weird respect I talked about in the last entry. I felt that to take a few photographs of specific items was to honour Austen but that to capture the entire flavour of the place would be like walking on her grave.

The house may look rather large but the rooms are humble, even the hallways are only wide enough for one person to move through comfortably at a time – single file is required around the top floor and the only reason the ground floor is easier is because it’s mostly rooms and the one large vestibule. This brings into perspective just how lowly the family was; they may have had more money than some but it would never have brought them to the attention of say, a Mr Darcy.

I was surprised to find that there was little of Austen’s writing to be found here but there was her hand-written music notation and one of Cassandra’s art works (which was beautifully painted). I was also surprised that so little furniture in the house had actually belonged to the family, besides from the table at which Austen had written a lot of her books. The notification said that the table had had to be brought back to the house and my mother said (I took my mother along for the visit – she’s not yet read Austen but enjoyed it all the same) that she couldn’t understand why a family would give away such an important possession. But as I told her, at that time it wouldn’t have seemed so important, as it never does when people clear away castles for newer buildings – somehow we never realise just how important things might be to future generations.

The kitchen is accessed via a door that is next to the one that leads into the drawing room, in other words you have to go outside again to reach the kitchen. How many servants the Austens would’ve had I can’t say, but I doubt it was more than two because there just wasn’t room unless the servants had lived elsewhere.

The garden is small but pretty and kept neat and tidy, there was possibly another garden too as there’s a gate leading to another space but it was closed and looking through it you can see something’s being constructed.

Apart from the house there is the church (where Cassandra and Mrs. Austen are buried), and a large library that was once the manor house of the village’s owner. I did not have time to go inside but the exterior is very grand and the land covers many acres.

I had a brilliant time in Chawton and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Austen, manor houses, or the countryside. For me it was a taste of England I’d never experienced.